This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Challengers to Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman vowed Sunday during a live television debate that if elected, they will slash her office's budget in half, capping it at $1 million.
Merrill Cook, who is running unaffiliated, went even further, pledging to cut all spending by an average of 10 percent, even if it meant some layoffs.
"There are a lot of good workers," Cook said during a debate on KUTV's "Take Two" show Sunday morning. But "some people may have to lose their jobs."
Democrat Peter Corroon said he wants to go hunting for cuts, but not at the expense of jobs.
Republican Workman said "you can always look at making cuts" but that her office size is only a reflection of consolidated services.
"That's just foolhardy to go in and say you can do 10 percent across the board," the embattled mayor said in an interview after the program. "Because that's not understanding of how to make things more efficient, how to consolidate services and how to do it without a blanket cut."
Workman - who faces two felony charges of misuse of public money and is on paid leave - also said during the debate that she will get a trial before the election. "If I don't get in, then there's a question [for voters]: 'Why won't they let her get into court?' "
She did not clarify who "they" were. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the mayor on Oct. 4, but no trial date has been set.
Cook didn't want to talk about Workman's criminal case, but Corroon said he hoped the mayor "gets a speedy trial."
The charges didn't dominate the debate. Like a more typical candidate forum, the three candidates discussed a range of topics, from a perception of county corruption to Legacy Highway.
Workman and Cook said they back the proposal to link Salt Lake and Davis counties with a highway to alleviate congestion on Interstate 15. "We've got to be able to move people around," Workman said.
Corroon said he doesn't support the current plan and wants an alternative route that doesn't cross wetlands near the Great Salt Lake. Cook said that position was further proof of Corroon's similar stands with Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Republicans have tried to link the two Democrats, a strategy that Cook is now employing.
Cook, a former congressman, said there is "significant corruption" in county government and that it needs to be overhauled. Key to that change, he says, is dropping party affiliation and making the government nonpartisan.
Corroon says he wouldn't call it "corruption," but that there needs to be more adherence to county policies and procedures and more stringent rules. He wants to ax county-provided vehicles to appointees and ban gifts to officials.
Workman defended the government, saying it is not corrupt. She noted that she got rid of cars for herself and her appointees amid the recent vehicle-abuse scandal and that the people involved in the controversy are "gone."
"You have seen things that are being cleaned up," the mayor said. "This form of government is uncovering them."
Corroon says he would form a public-private partnership to bring back a helicopter for the sheriff's office, which lost its two choppers during budget cuts in 2000. The Democrat said he would like to boost the sheriff's budget but that the recent loss of a contract to provide police protection in Taylorsville makes that difficult.
Cook said he would beef up sheriff's office spending by cutting other departments. He added that he wants to see a cost analysis to get a helicopter and that "I'm not going to go out and agree to that to get an endorsement" - a reference to an endorsement by the Sheriff's Employee Association.
Workman said she would keep the sheriff's budget the same, but she trumpeted the increase of patrol deputies in the unincorporated areas.
It is unclear how many more debates the three candidates will have before the Nov. 2 election, as schedules have not been finalized. Two debates and a candidate forum are set for this week.
County corruption?
Merill Cook: Says there is "significant corruption" in county government that needs to be addressed.
Peter Corroon: Wouldn't call it corruption, but says that all county workers need to know policies and more stringent rules, such as a gift ban, are needed.
Nancy Workman: Says the county is not corrupt and that problems are surfacing because the new form of government is flushing them out and cleaning them up.
Slashing spending
Cook: Vows to cap the mayor's office budget at $1 million and proposes a 10 percent average cut in other departments, even if workers lose jobs.
Corroon: Agrees his administration could limit the mayor's office spending to $1 million and wants to look at each department for further cuts.
Workman: Promises to not raise taxes and adds that, "You can always look at making cuts."
Living wage
Cook: Does not support a proposal to give preference to county contractors who pay at least $9 an hour.
Corroon: Supports a county proposal for that preference, but would affect contracts only where there is no other discernible difference between the bidders.
Workman: Does not support the living wage proposal.